Written by

Wes

JOHNSON

Venting air from my scuba vest, I slip beneath the wind-rippled surface of Bull Shoals Lake and glide quietly behind Maurice Cook as he propels himself into the depths.

The Benton, Ark., diver is on the prowl, armed with a pistol-gripped spear gun he’ll use to harpoon slippery catfish and toothy walleye. Like a pilot’s wingman, I flank his fins — to avoid scaring any fish that might swim by him, but also to stay clear of the sharp stainless-steel barbed spear.

The burly Maurice, just back from an ocean diving trip to Honduras, is wrapped in neoprene and equipped with the latest diving gear. Fifteen feet deep, we find a field of algae-covered boulders. He shines his underwater light into a deep crevice beneath one of the rocks, looking for a flathead or channel catfish.

Nobody’s home.

We swim deeper, bypassing several small bass lingering near the rocks, the fish eyeing us curiously. Ahead, a strange wall of orange-colored water rises from the depths. It’s riding the edge of a thermocline, the interface where comfortably warm surface water meets finger-numbing cold.

The orange algae-bloom cloud, triggered by midsummer heat and nutrient-rich water, envelops us, our world dimming to pale orange light. I lift the edge of my mask to let in a little water, just enough to slosh across the lens and clear away the fog. I catch a glimpse of Maurice’s fins kicking farther into the murk.

In an instant, he vanishes from view. I listen for his exhalations, trying to track the direction of his bubbles. Unsuccessful, I slowly ascend to the surface and wait for him to do the same.

I certainly don’t want to be mistaken for a very large catfish.

Bull Shoals Shootout

Diving in Bull Shoals Lake is usually far better than that, with visibility sometimes reaching 20 to 30 feet. For that reason, the lake is known and marketed as a diving destination. It’s also the reason DiVentures Scuba and Swim Center in Springfield revived what once was a popular event — a spearfishing tournament on the Arkansas side of the lake.

Spearing game fish is illegal in Missouri, though nongame fish like carp, bluegill, drum and gar can be speared year-round.

Last Saturday, 16 divers from Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Illinois and Nebraska probed the lake in search of flathead catfish, blue or channel catfish and walleye during the 2012 Bull Shoals Shootout.

The contest drew legendary Midwest spearfisherman Les Sage of Joplin, who holds the world record for a striped bass taken in a freshwater lake — a 35.4-pound fish he shot in Beaver Lake, Ark., in 2010.

During the weigh-in Saturday, there were some looks of disbelief when the lanky Sage arrived, still wearing his camouflaged wetsuit, and he asked if anybody had a pickup to help bring in his catch.

And no, he wasn’t kidding.

Among Sage’s catfish and walleye in a jumbo-sized cooler was a 22-pound, 2-ounce flathead he found in a deep brush pile. Unlike many other divers who wore scuba gear, Sage used only a mask, snorkel and fins. He said he can hold his breath for five minutes, and the lack of bubbles from a scuba regulator helps him sneak up on fish that otherwise might be leery of the gurgling noise.

“This one was 28 feet down inside a big brush pile,” Sage said. “The visibility was very low, maybe two feet. I saw his tail first, and followed the line up his back to his head and made the shot.”

The fish put up a tough fight, bruising the fingers of Sage’s gloved left hand where he had wrapped the spear gun’s line.

The big fish won first place — and a $250 payout — in the flathead catfish category.

“It’s fun, it’s enjoyable,” Sage said when asked why he hunts fish underwater. “It combines the skills of fishing and hunting, both of which I like to do. I’ve been doing this a long time, since the 1970s.”

Terri Bernard, a licensed scuba instructor and spearfishing enthusiast, said walleye are her favorites in Bull Shoals Lake. Though now living in Little Rock, Ark., Bernard lived close to Bull Shoals for years and knows where to find the sleek, torpedo-shaped fish.

“A walleye doesn’t look like any other fish in the lake,” she said. “They flash gold in color when they swim, and their eyes shine gold when you see them.”

Being landlocked in the Midwest sparked Bernard’s interest in discovering what lies beneath the waves.

“If you ever want to see what’s in inner space, diving is the way to go,” she said. “I knew I’d never be an astronaut, but I was going to be a diver. Just getting in the water, experiencing that quiet feeling, the cool water running across your temples. And yes, underwater, you’re absolutely weightless.”

The winning walleye during this tournament was a 4.4-pound fish shot by diver Joe Graber of Illinois. While a nice size for eating, it didn’t come close to the tournament record.

Several years ago, Oklahoma diver David Lane signed up to compete after just earning his scuba certification. And on his first try at spearfishing, he shot a 15.6-pound walleye. The tournament record catfish was shot in 1989, a 44.5 pounder.

Though some surface anglers might view spearfishing as “shooting fish in a barrel,” Mark Haggart, general manager of DiVentures, of Omaha, Neb., disagrees.

Haggart, a veteran scuba diver, got an underwater look at Bull Shoals Lake ahead of the tournament, diving a ridge to get a feel for what’s there.

“I have big plans for the Bull Shoals Shootout now that I have seen and experienced the venue,” he said.

Coming up empty

Although other divers managed to spear some walleye and catfish on Saturday, Maurice Cook came up empty on his 45-minute dive with me. He did manage to shoot a flathead catfish the day before the tournament began, and it was waiting in his refrigerator for a trip to the grill.

Cook also earned his master-diver certificate during his Bull Shoals dive and plans to travel a lot to see more of the underwater world.

“It’s the lure of seeing new things,” he said. “I want to explore this new underwater world. I’ve always been fascinated with marine life. In Honduras we saw rays, a nurse shark and a seven-foot-long moray eel. It was amazing, but that eel did scare the (expletive) out of me!”

Learn to dive

For more information about scuba diving and how to become a certified diver, visit DiVentures’ website at http://www.diventures.net/" alt="" title="" target="_blank">www.diventures.net, or call the Springfield store at 417-883-5151.